Mistakes
by tvnut014
Summary: Aftermath of Bad Reputation. Rachel and Puck dwell on the pieces of what is left of their reputations. Puckelberry Spoilers: for Bad Reputation as well as possibly Laryngitis. Feedback is always welcome. Angst will lighten as the story moves on.


**_So, this is my first Glee fic. I have written many other stories for Bones, but this is the first I have written for Glee. Redundant, I know. Ever since Bad Reputation, I decided that it needed a more hopeful continuation of it. Thus, the story. Ironically, the story starts out pretty angst-y. It'll lighten up as the story progresses. (Plus, I have a friend who was kind of torn up about the whole thing. And the barely visible Puckelberry within the episode.) Also, not sure if I will continue on this or not. _**

**_Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Let me know how I did/or am doing._**

**_Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. If it were, Mark Salling would be mine. All mine. _**

**_Spoilers: Bad Reputation, possibly for Laryngitis as well. _**

* * *

Rachel Berry sat in the center of her bed clutching a pillow to her chest, staring into space. The tears had stopped flowing down her cheeks some time ago. She hadn't even turned on her stereo to drown out her sobs. It was a good thing her dads hadn't been home, they were on a business trip as per usual. If they had been home, they would have asked her what was wrong. Even if she would have wanted to tell them, she wouldn't even know where to begin.

Rachel blinked her eyes slowly, waking up from her reverie. Blearily, she glanced outside her window, finding that it was dark outside. Surprised, she glanced at the clock sitting beside her bed. It was about seven o'clock. She had gotten home at about 5:00 after Glee practice had ended. Normally, she would have been disgusted with herself for wasting such time doing nothing. Then she realized that she didn't care.

What she had done was inexcusable. A flash of pain in her stomach caused her to double over slightly. Still sitting on the bed, she clutched the pillow even closer to her body. When she first started her "Bad Reputation" project, she wanted to prove to her fellow Glee-clubbers that she wasn't a Miss-Goody-Two-Shoe. Although her singing talent was impeccable, Rachel wanted to prove that she had a darker, more promiscuous side. A more relatable side.

She knew what was said about her. That she was the teacher's pet. A show-off. A snob. Those were some of the kinder denunciations. She thought that making this video would make the others see that she was just like them. She thought that if she went through with this she would be accepted within the group. Even though she had established that she was one of the best singers in New Directions, she had no friends outside of school, except for Jesse. Even then all he wanted to do was make-out, or sing. He never really wanted to talk.

Of course, the chance of showing her classmates superb acting skills on film was an exciting motivator for the project. She discovered that the only way that she would get the attention and appreciation she was craving was if she used all Jesse, Finn, and Puck in her short film. When she had first made this decision, it felt as though a rock was sitting at the bottom of her stomach.

Guilt.

She had quickly brushed the feeling aside, telling herself that it was for the best. Making this video would prove that she was one of them, and that she had talent to spare. A had thought crossed her mind, asking her how the boys would feel when they discovered that they were not the only ones in the video. She tried not to think about it.

Surely, they would see it from her point of view? As a way to connect with the others. As a way for the others to see her as the misunderstood artist she truly was?

Rachel had to admit, seeing herself on the screen was truly fascinating. She had no idea that she walked that quickly. And was her nose really that large?

She hadn't discovered the boys' reactions until after the video had been over. She had turned to Jesse excitedly to see his reaction. Upon seeing the expression on his face, a mixture of hurt, disbelief and disgust, Rachel's stomach had plummeted. She and turned to see Finn and Puck, only to see the same expression on each.

Her giddiness quickly turned into nausea. The knot that had been forming in her stomach due to her nervousness, promptly tightened, causing a shot of pain to rush through her body, as though she were three years old again and she had just stuck her finger into an electrical socket.

Seeing Jesse's face, then Finn's, then Puck's, made her heart sink lower, and lower, and lower. Upon seeing Puck's expression, her heart shattered. Even Puck, a boy who seemingly couldn't, and wouldn't, give a shit about her, looked not only pissed, but hurt. She thought that if anyone would have accepted her choice to make the video the way she had, it would have been Puck. Realizing that even he wasn't on her side, Rachel realized that she was more alone than ever, even before Jesse had left the room.

* * *

Puck sighed has he plopped down on his bed. He laid on his back staring at the ceiling, pissed. Not drunk pissed, though he wished he was. Then maybe he could forget what had happened. No, he was pissed off, plain and simple. Though nothing seemed simple about what had happened to him.

He had been used. He, Puck, had been used like the very dweebs that he picked on. Damn that Rachel Berry. All she had done was flutter her eyelashes and he had been lured in. For what? So that Berry could have her reputation dirtied up a bit? Hell, he could have done that for her. He had done a number on his own reputation.

All she would have to do was get the captain of the Cheerios and the president of the Celibacy Club pregnant and everyone automatically assumes it was _you_ who put up that fucking _glist_. If that was even physically possible for a girl, the pregnant part that is. The _glist_ part was apparently all him.

Being falsely accused of a crime that you didn't commit wasn't cool. And neither was being played like a sap along with two other guys. He could feel his 'social status plummeting by the second', as Berry would put it.

He growled,_ What the hell was he doing thinking about Berry? She was the reason his rep was sinking down the hole faster than when a MILF asks if he'd like a 'glass of lemonade' when he's finished cleaning the pool. _

Being blamed for making the _glist_ was the first time that Puck had realized that his bad-ass reputation was giving him, well, a bad rap. _Something_, he realized, _that wasn't good when you weren't trying to get tail. _

Besides, he had a feeling his bad rep was failing him in a different way. When he had been in Berry's room before the whole music video fiasco, she had mentioned something about his bad boy image turning her on. But the point was, they still didn't end up making out. Making him think that his bad-ass-ness wasn't working as well as it had.

He hadn't been lying when he had been talking to Berry in her room. He WAS tired of people judging him for the mistakes he made. But he was trying to make up for it. He was trying to be there for Quinn and the baby. He wasn't like the jerk-off that he had the _privilege_ to call his father. Puck would never abandon his child.

He needed to be able to prove to Quinn that he was a stand up guy.

Puck sat up in his bed.

He hated the way every single person in Glee thought that he had been the one who had made the _glist_. Hell, even Shuester, who was supposed to not take sides, even doubted him.

Well, he wouldn't give them any more ammunition to use against him. Noah Puckerman was going to change. He wouldn't beat up dweebs anymore, even though they deserved it. It would prove that he was a reliable guy.

Sure, not beating up nerds would be a challenge. But the think about Puck was that he didn't back away from a challenge. Ever.

Plus, he might be able to tap into a whole different range of girls than the ones he was used to.

Definite bonus.

* * *

_**Depending on how this goes over I'm not sure if I'll continue with this story. Please let me know what you think of it: good/bad, repetitive, not enough Puckelberry etc...**_

**_~tvnut014_**


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